Da Band was a hip hop group put together by P. Diddy.
Career
During the preliminary period 40,000 participants tried out for a spot in the group but Diddy narrowed it down to six artists. For several weeks the group was subjected to vigorous and sometime demeaning tasks, including walking from midtown Manhattan to Brooklyn to purchase a Junior's cheesecake for Diddy, and Ness' battle with Harlem rapper Jae Millz. The group's story was documented by three seasons of MTV's Making the Band 2 reality series. Their debut album, Too Hot for TV, was released in September 2003.
After Da Band
On the Season Three finale, the group effectively ended when Diddy dissolved them and chose to keep Ness, Babs, and Chopper "Young City" on the label. Ness and Babs were to be a duo and Chopper was to be a solo artist on Bad Boy South. Chopper would eventually leave the label and was followed by Babs sometime later leaving Ness the group's only member still signed to Bad Boy. Ness has worked as a songwriter for Diddy on albums such as 2006's Press Play. The group (minus Dylan, who was parodied/played by Chappelle and appeared via footage) parodied what they went through during the filming of Making the Band 2 on Dave Chappelle's sketch comedy show The Chappelle Show. The group members have since been working on solo projects and have maintained good relationships with each other. Sara Stokes throughout her hiatus continued to record new music teaming up with industry music producer James Worthy to better develop her sound. Stokes now has a current single released entitled "Sneak Peek" Featuring Babs. Chopper and Ness were involved in a long-standing dispute but that seems to have been settled. According to Dylan the group has talking about reuniting but Chopper is apparently not yet on board.
Band Members
- Sara Stokes (born June 1, 1977) - a Port Huron R&B singer
- Dylan Dilinjah (born Dylan John on February 8, 1980) - a Brooklyn reggae vocalist
- Chopper "Young City" (born Kevin Barnes in 1987) - a New Orleans MC
- Babs (born Lynese Wiley in 1979) - an MC from Brooklyn
- E. Ness (born Lloyd Mathis in 1977) - an MC from Philadelphia
- Freddy P (born Frederick Watson in 1981) - a Miami MC
Discography
Albums
Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |
---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | Too Hot for TV
|
2 | 1 |
|
Singles
Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | "Bad Boy This, Bad Boy That" | 50 | 15 | 13 | Too Hot for TV |
"Tonight" | - | 110 | - |